This will be the last time we'll fight
by ElyPines
Summary: Voltron isn't done yet - the Paladins still need to defeat Haggar if they want to bring peace to the Universe. But first, they need to heal and bring peace to themselves.
1. One knife and two hearts

Allura had her attention focused on the holoscreen in front of her, the ship they had been working on lying peacefully in the background. It was late and she had worked for the whole day, but she had just figured out some equations that had been bothering her the last few days so her tiredness went after her excitation. "A few more doboshes" she was telling herself.

Suddenly, she felt Lotor, right besides her, leaning to her and gently gripping her hips in his hand. He drew her closer to him and she giggled.

"Hi there, princess" he said softly while hovering over her neck with his mouth, "It's late, you know. I'd appreciate if you wouldn't work yourself to death."

He put a ghost kiss on her cheek and she turned crimson red. She tried to push him away but she wasn't really convincing - they both knew it.

"I'm almost done" she said as an excuse " _ _we__ 're almost there."

Lotor looked up at the ship with a confident smile then looked back at her and it was so obvious that he had never looked at anything or anyone the way he was looking at her right now.

"Allura."

She bit her lower lip and stared at the floor. Whenever he used her name, it was because he was going to say something so sweet, so meaningful that it would make her want to be in his arms forever.

"Allura."

With extreme gentleness, he took her chin in his thin fingers and lifted it to him so that she couldn't but look at him in the eyes.

"What you've done, it's amazing. I mean it. Don't tire you out please. We need you." He waited for a second before adding: "I need you."

She tried to play it casual.

"I'm not tiring myself out. I'm just excited, that's all."

He laughed - his laugh was so bright, it sounded like the cute fountains she used to listen to in their garden, back when Altea was still a planet (and a people).

"Aren't we all?" asked the half-Galra prince. "Still, let not rush it. I appreciate this time we're spending together."

"Me too!" she quickly replied. She leaned closer against him. "But I want it to be finished __so bad__. I'm impatient for us to manoeuvre it. Together."

While still smiling - but his smile felt sadder? - Lotor delicately pushed her away.

"Yes. You are. But you know that won't happen."

"Why? Why's that, Lotor?"

He slowly put out a dark purple knife from his belt.

"Because you know we didn't."

Allura felt a huge sense of danger flooding into her veins. But she couldn't move. She was like hypnotized. Or maybe she just didn't want to. Memories were getting back to the surface. She shook her head.

"No, no... Please, we can make this work."

Lotor pressed his lips together.

"No, we can't" he said dryly.

And then, with no more brutality than when he had embraced her, he plunged his knife in her stomach. Allura gasped. They stared at each other and she could tell, she was sure he looked only sorry.

"Allura! Allura!"

She woke up suddenly and for a second, she didn't know where she was or what was happening but she pressed her hand on her stomach, right where she had dreamt Lotor had plunged his knife. Of course, there was no blood - nor pain.

"Allura! Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times before rising her eyes to meet up with Lance's. She considered her environment and saw that he was bended over her bed, holding firmly her hand. The room was dark. It was the middle of the night, in the hospital the five paladins were while recovering from their final battle with Sendak.

Earth. Allura breathed out. Her memory had completely come back to her now. What happened was just a dream - a real bad one but a dream nonetheless.

"Yes... Yes, I'm fine, thank you, Lance."

The boy looked away for a second, embarrassed. Then he let out her hand and sat onto her couch. For a moment, he fiddled with his pants. Finally, he spoke again, without looking at her.

"You were screaming. I though-"

She put her hand on his shoulder and mildly smiled.

"You did the right thing. Thank you, Lance."

He nodded before raising his head in her direction. He attempted to smile in his flirtatious way - he was obviously trying to make her feel better but since he couldn't find what to say, he ended up asking softly:

"So... you want to talk about it?"

Allura's smiled vanished and she looked down, frowning. It's not that she didn't want to share her nightmares with Lance - they had gotten so close lately, she felt like she could trust him with that - she just couldn't find the words either.

"I- I dreamt about Lotor."

Lance immediately looked sad. He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. Allura tried to keep going but words decidedly wouldn't come out and she shook her head, unable to speak.

"You really loved him, didn't you?" asked Lance as softly as before.

She nodded. Her hand slipped out of his and she curled up.

"I think so. He was so nice and caring and- and I thought the feeling was mutual." Tears of rage and sorrow started flowing. "But he just wanted to use me before betraying us all. I feel so bad. This is all my fault!"

"Hey! Allura! Allura, please!"

She looked up at the Paladin who was bending over her again.

"This is not your fault" said Lance while insisting on every word so she knew he meant them all. "He played on your feelings and- heck! He played on everyone's feelings! We all believed in his lies about peace and shit! Besides, falling in love is never someone's fault. It just sucks because he didn't deserve you and he hurt you."

Allura wiped out her tears and sat up.

"Thank you Lance" she said for the third time. "You really know what to say."

He shrugged and gave her his charming smile - though his eyes were sad.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

They stood silent for a few more minutes before Lance sighed and rose to his feet and, having asked if she was going to be okay or if she didn't need anything else, started to walk to the door. Before he crossed the threshold, however, Allura called him back.

"Why were you up?" she asked him. She frowned. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

The Cuban boy smiled wildly at her.

"No, no, don't worry! I, er, couldn't sleep either so I went out for a walk. Though it may help."

She nodded.

"I see. Then, good night, Lance."

His smile softened.

"Good night princess."

The corridors were dark - and cold. Actually, they weren't that cold, because despite the lack of energy needed to have the heaters working all the time (with all the reconstruction and stuff, it was to be expected that they'd have to make sacrifices, especially when none of the Paladins were in mortal danger), the weather was still fine and they could nearly walk bare foot. So, it was more like an internal feeling of cold.

Lance went back to his own bedroom. He hesitated to turn on the lights but decided that he better not if he was going to try having some sleep. He crawled in his bed and drew the sheet up to his chin.

He stared at the ceiling.

"Geez!" he exclaimed while pressing his palms on his eyes "why am I like this?"

He turned over and tried to get to sleep. But all he could think about was Allura - and Lotor (eurk). When these two had started growing closer to each other, he had wondered if what he felt about Allura was really love. Then Lotor betrayed them and now, he couldn't help but feel like he had a second chance. That was silly, though. Allura had never been in love with him and now with her heart broken, she was definitively not looking for another boyfriend.

Plus, he hadn't sorted the question out, yet: was __he__ in love with Allura? When he thought about her, he felt a huge burst of affection towards her but so did he with the rest of the team.

So, to put it in a nutshell.

Why was he crying?


	2. Blood on your hands

"You killed him!"

Albeit coming from a really old lady, that sentence had echoed through the whole large square and every merchants and customers grouped there in the open market had turned their head toward her. Quickly, thought, voices rose up and people gathered to calm her down - if not shut her up - and drag her away.

"How can you say something like that, old woman?" people asked and also : "No, boy, she didn't mean it!" to the person said woman was talking to - attacking rather.

But the old lady - of the Galran race - rose her purple and thin finger and pointed it at the Paladin while making her voice even louder.

"You killed him!" she repeated and she was more spitting than properly talking. "You are the one who did it! Do you think my boy got enlisted in Sendak's army for fun? But of course you didn't care when you shoot him mid-air! I don't even have a body to bury! Because of you! You!"

Eventually, the people there, who came from all over the Universe, managed to take the Galran mother away from the square. Some stayed around the Paladin to express their sorrys and, above all, to tell him not to take notice of what that "crazy old witch" was saying.

"You saved us all" they reminded him. "That's everything that matters."

His family - his mother and his sister - took his arms gently and pressed tightly - he could feel their warmth.

"Come on, sugar" said his mother "don't think about it anymore."

But that was all that Hunk could think about.

They made their way back home. Hunk was carrying the bags full of supplies - though his mother and sister had their own share of weight to deal with. The flat was in pretty bad shape for a regular human being of Earth four years ago but completely decent for those who had suffered from the Galran invasion. The first step of the reconstruction was putting a roof over everybody's head, not garnishing their houses with TV. Still, this emplacement had a solid advantage: it was a three minutes' walk away from the hospital.

Hunk - as well as the other Paladins - weren't yet authorized to spent more than a day outside the hospital. While their families decided to visit them on an almost daily basis - so they never had to go out, they also found close flats to move in so the Paladin could enjoy some fresh air after all. Thus, Hunk and his family had gotten used to him going back home every Wednesday and Sunday. They'd usually go the the open-air market - kind of the only one you could go to - enjoying both the varieties of supplies available and the little chat with the people of as various races as their products. Then they'd head home and cook whatever felt good to eat on the moment. Hunk never forgot to bake more than needed so he could take some back to the other Paladins. It was nice days - relaxing days.

Except for today. Today went all wrong.

Hunk put the bags on the kitchen table and looked at his hands.

"Is that true? Am I a murderer?"

He felt like shivering (though it wasn't cold inside, even without heaters).

"Oh, sugar!" said her mother before coming up and wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on his cheek.

"You certainly not. You're my baby son - and a hero!"

Her sister, who had started unpacking the supplies they had just bought, stopped for a moment and from across the table, put her hand on his.

"That woman" she said "was crazy."

Hunk looked up at her, frowning. She continued.

"We all went though losses. Everyone of us. And for some... it makes them lose their mind. Don't take it personally. She just want someone to blame and since Sendak is dead... well, you just happened to be there."

She threw a fruit to him - something pear-shaped and orangey with green dots - and he caught it by reflex.

"Come on, Paladin!" her sister said "let's make this cinnamon and citrus rolls that we used to do for Nan's birthday!"

He chuckled lightly while looking at the strange fruit.

"Well, I don't know if you'll be able to call that cinnamon and citrus rolls since that is definitively not cinnamon or citrus, but I'd say it's worth trying!"

The door slid open smoothly and Hunk entered what they called the "cafeteria" - the biggest room on their floor where they had put some couches and cushions, a table, a mini-bar and even an oven so that the Yellow Paladin could continue his cooking for them all.

The Cafet' was empty except for Keith, sprawling on the nearest couch, attempting to read a book (with his head down, that didn't quite seem like the most efficient reading position). When Hunk took the seat next to him, he sat up and looked at him with a questioning frown. Hunk handed him over one of the rolls he had just made, neatly wrapped up in a napkin. Keith's face brightened as he took the pastry and shoved it in his mouth.

"Hunk, that's so delicious!" he exclaimed while still chewing.

Hunk blushed and wriggled on his seat.

"Oh you know... It's basic cooking, really."

"Damn, I would be glad if I ever have that basic cooking!"

The young man picked up his book with one hand, sucking meticulously the fingers of his other hand, one by one.

Hunk's smile dropped. He opened his mouth a few times but no words came out. Finally, he sighed and the noise drew Keith's attention back to him.

"You okay, buddy?" asked the leader of Voltron.

The boy almost nodded under the force of habit but this time... This time, it was too much. When a single tear ran across his cheek, Keith immediately dropped his book and rushed to his side, gripping his arm.

"Hey! Hey, Hunk! What's wrong?"

More tears ran down his chubby cheeks before he splat it all out; the open-air market, the old lady and the horrible sentence she had told him. He ended curled up on the couch, pressing his hands to his crying eyes.

"Keith, what did we do?!"

Keith's face had darkened as Hunk had being talking. He still had his hand on Hunk's elbow but he was staring blankly at the wall beneath them.

"What we had to do, Hunk." he said, his voice hoarse. "That's how war goes."

Hunk snorted and rose his head to meet Keith's eyes.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" he asked.

Keith didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

They both fell silent. Hunk looked back at his hands. It was almost as if he could actually see it, see the blood they were stained all over with. What made it worse was the memories of the battles. Some were tough - tough enough to have them fear they wouldn't make it alive - but beyond the stress and the apprehension for both themselves and their team mates, it always had been a matter of excitation.

Every time Hunk had entered his Lion, he had felt excited. Flying in Yellow had always been such a amazing experience - not even added the fact that the two of them had __literally bonded__ over the months and the battles. How could he have forgotten that the Lions were nothing more than war machines? They always had been, heck, they were designed to be war machines. To destroy ships and every one of their inhabitants. Defenders of the Universe? Let me laugh.

The Paladins had been killing people for months now.

"Well. It really sucks."

Keith nodded.

"Yeah. I know."

Hunk spent another half of an hour in the Cafet' - Keith started to read again - before getting back to his feet and exiting the common room. He headed to his bedroom and looked out the window.

The city was nothing but rubble. Not one skyscraper still stood above the streets, untouched. There were canvasses everywhere, to make up for the broken windows, the collapsed roofs and the missing doors. Most people slept on the ground, in giant dormitories because they were overcrowded by the inflow of extra-terrestrial beings. Over time, obviously, things would settle themselves. Step two of the Reconstruction. Things would get better, that was for sure. But not before all the Galra Warlords had been defeated. How much more time did that make? How much more blood on their hands ?

How many more nightmares?

Hunk didn't sleep well that night.

Not that any of them slept well on nights, for all it matters.


	3. A long night vigil

Pidge couldn't sleep. She had twisted and turned so many times she had lost count. She forced herself to keep her eyes shut but after a few minutes, she'd noticed she was staring at the ceiling. She rose up to have a glass a water. Later on, she went to pee. Later on, she had another glass of water. Being the smartass girl she was, she tried every technique ever to get her body to quiznaking sleep. Unfortunately, none of them worked. And it was three in the morning already.

"Screw that."

She rose from her bed one more time and put her feet into her slippers while seizing her green jumper out of the back of the chair she had tossed it on last night. She left her bedroom and blinked a few times because of the raw - albeit dim - lighting in the corridors. She enveloped herself tightly in her jumper. Lack of sleep made her shiver - but still no sleepy! what a shame seriously.

She wandered up and down the corridors of the - mostly - empty hospital. Everyone else had to be deeply asleep at this time of the night. Why wasn't she? She had told herself it could be because, since they didn't do much during the day (the medics, if anything, agreed on that specific order: do as little as possible), her body wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. Even though Pidge had always been more of a brain over than muscles, she missed training sessions. She missed action, too. Being part of the resistance, of the fighting; her dad and her brother came to the hospital quite often but she didn't want to just see them, she wanted to help them. But here she was, stranded in that hospital the Paladins had all for themselves (though they occupied only one floor for it wasn't necessary to waste energy and heating on multiple floors when they obviously could fit in one).

So, that was what Pidge had been telling herself. Her body was restless; she couldn't sleep because of that.

It was all a lie, of course.

She hadn't paid attention to where she was going and flinched when she realized she was standing in front of the door of the common room. She frowned more when she saw the light filtered from beneath and heard muffled voices. Mildly surprised, she opened the door.

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed.

Allura turned her head around and waved at her with a sad smile.

"Hello Pidge, are you joining us?"

The girl took a few steps into the room before hearing Hunk's voice - he was standing behind the mini-bar, cooking.

"Want some?" he asked while pointing at the hot beverage and pastries he was making.

She nodded. She moved towards the couch and take a seat next to Allura, facing Lance. The latter grinned.

"Welcome to the club of the Unsleep, I guess."

She couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is it the weekly reunion?"

The Cuban boy winced.

"More like the daily one."

They fell silent for a few minutes. Only the swift movements of the knife and the clinging sound of the spoon inside the mug could be heard. The oven's timer rang and soon a smooth smell filled the entire room. Everyone seemed to relax a bit.

Hunk came from behind the counter not long afterwards, holding up a plate crumbling under the weight of greenish cookies and orange rolls that he laid down on the table between the couches. One more trip to the counter and he returned with the mugs he handed over to each Paladin.

"Thank you, Hunk" said Allura while wrapping both of her hands around the mug to better feel its warmth.

"Yeah, thanks, pal" said Lance.

Pidge hummed the hot beverage.

"Quiznak, this smells so good, Hunk."

It was hot chocolates but with something more. The three of them argued over the "more" for ten whole minutes - Pidge was sure it was cinnamon, Allura was convinced it was mint and Lance assured them it was honey - before Hunk revealed that he had put a different extra in each mug to fit better their own personal taste. They blushed.

"Aw, Hunk, that's so thoughtful" said Allura.

Hunk turned red and made this kind of excuse he always did when they were complimenting on his baking skills - or, actually, on any of the amazing skills he had.

"No, really!" said Pidge before she lowered her voice, "I'm feeling better already."

They drank and ate in silence. The pastries were as good as the beverage. The green cookies was something Hunk already used to cook back in the Castle but the rolls were a new thing. When Lance asked about them, the Yellow Paladin explained that he had forgotten the recipe and had just learned it again recently.

"Like, three days ago? I'm not even sure I'm doing it right actually."

"Hunk, they're perfect" Allura assured him - and like that, he turned red again.

Lance put down his mug on the table and slouched himself on the couch, sighing loudly.

"Man, it's like we're only waiting for Keith, now."

Pidge frowned at him.

"Well, I think he's sleeping. Isn't he?" she added when she saw the two boys getting suddenly grim.

Eventually, Lance spoke up.

"I hear him hitting the wall."

He didn't even need to specify "every night" - it was obvious enough.

That was when they heard a new voice.

"Guys?"

They all turned towards the Cafet's door to see Keith standing in the threshold, looking both worried and surprised. Hunk jumped to his feet.

"I'm making another chocolate!" he said almost gleefully (almost. Because there was little to no fun at realizing none of them could sleep).

Keith moved into the room and sat besides Lance. It didn't take much more time for Hunk to make his beverage and took it to him. Keith thanked him with a nod. He waited a few more seconds before asking:

"So... Have you guys been up for long now?"

"I didn't even begin to sleep" said Pidge.

"Same here" said Hunk.

"I woke up from a nightmare" said Allura.

Lance remained silent. When Keith glanced at him, he simply shrugged.

"Wasn't feeling like sleeping" he said and Keith nodded.

They stared at each other for some time. What a silly bunch they made; all of them sitting in the common room at four in the morning, drinking hot chocolate and eating pastries waiting for... what? The sleep or the sun to rise?

Keith sighed.

"Are we gonna talk about this?" he asked his team mates.

No one answered his question. Allura and Pidge seemed deeply absorbed in whatever laid at the bottom of their mug while Lance was fiddling with his fingers and Hunk was gathering the crumbs on a corner of the table. The truth was, they were all thinking about it. Thinking about that thing that prevented them from sleeping well on nights. That kept Allura awake because every time she closed her eyes she saw her hated lover or her loved enemy; that kept Hunk awake because when he closed his eyes, he saw his hands dripping with blood rather than milk and cookie dough; that kept Pidge awake because when she closed her eyes, she saw either her brother's grave or her own fall through the Earth's atmosphere. That kept Lance and Keith awake because.

The leader of Voltron sighed for the second time.

"Okay. Got it."

He rose to his feet.

"Let's watch a movie" he said.

Pidge burst out laughing because of the silliness of the situation - and the other three soon joined her.

Hunk went back behind the counter to make another round of hot chocolate while Keith was picking up the movie.

He chose "Frozen".

At once, Lance was ready to sing along while Pidge was begging him not to for the very sake of her ears and Allura was asking Hunk what the movie was about.

The first frames were being displayed on the screen wall when Hunk got back.

"Move, move, move!" said Keith quickly to Lance.

They all came sitting in the same couch, the one turning its back on the counter and facing the screen. They didn't put the sound too loud because they actually realized that tired them out. Still, dizziness and later on, even sleepiness fell upon them. Pidge ended breathing quietly on Hunk's lap and Allura fell asleep on Lance's shoulder. Lance and Keith kept watching the movie for a little bit longer but Lance eventually laid down his head on Keith's shoulder and let sleep overcome him. Keith looked at his naturally tanned face. He seemed so... wise, actually. So far from the goofy flirt he always offered for the world to see. The boy shook his head. He never thought he would one day think that about Lance fucking McClain. But it was true; he had matured a lot since they had left Earth inside the Blue Lion. He wasn't even the only one; Keith, too, had changed. He had become a better fighter and a good leader.

He had learned to trust.

Anna was singing to Elsa to get her back. Keith smiled - it kind of reminded him something...

He turned off the movie then rested his head on Lance's brown hair and finally went to sleep.


	4. You're flying like an angel

Lance was entering the common room for a eight o'clock breakfast when he heard Pidge saying these words to the screen wall.

"No, stop!"

She was already dressed up but judging by the cup of tea on the lounge table and her messy hair, she was also in the process of waking up. Except the tea was almost cold for she had been screaming at the screen, clutching his fist - and sometimes her jaw when she couldn't find other words to throw at the stupid person she was obviously talking to.

Lance didn't mind (he simply thought she could have had this conversation in her room, rather than in the Cafet') too focused on the preparation of his first meal of the day. He came to the countertop and picked up a banana from the fruit basket then, having peeled it, started eating it, while opening the fridge to get inspired.

"Keith, for the last time-!"

 _ _Keith.__

Lance jumped and nearly hit his head on the fridge's edge. He mindlessly toss the rest of the banana on the countertop while running to where Pidge stood. She looked at him with a painful expression. In front of them, the screen had been connected to the hanger's cameras. A lone figure could be seen, going aboard one of the Lions. The Black one, to be specific.

Lance turned to Pidge, horrified.

"What the quiznak? What the fuck does he think he's doing?!"

Pidge sighed.

It was a quarter to eight in the morning when Pidge had entered the Cafet'. Keith was already there, eating his breakfast with a pouty face. The girl assumed he hadn't sleep well for yet another night and the only reason he hadn't begun his day earlier was because he had tried sleeping until now. Pidge went behind the kitchen island to prepare her cup of tea.

"Hey man" she said to Keith with a voice she hoped sounded cheerful.

"Hum" growls back the emo-guy.

She rolled her eyes but didn't make a comment. She opened the cupboard to grab a plate and put on some snacks and one of the remaining chocolate pudding from Hunk's latest baking session - these things were crazily delicious and she intended to eat them all without being spotted by the others.

She came sitting in the couch facing the giant screen on the wall, Keith sitting still poutily on the couch to her left. She picked up the remote and glanced at him.

"You mind if I watch some T.V.?" she asked him.

He shrugged and didn't look up. She assumed it was a no.

She turned on the T.V. and start browsing through the channels. T.V. was like at its most exciting state since the beginning of its existence and at the same time, at the most frustrating; aliens were now part of the programs - humans could see the weather forecast brought to them by a Puigian or, more surprisingly, by someone from Bii-bo-bi's people. There was also that cute cooking show with an Arusian Hunk never miss to watch or that one in the evening, a science show animated by a couple composed of a human and an Olkari. However, as the Reconstruction was barely in Phase One, only some geeks were in charge of keeping the two channels' broadcasting to the entire planet and thus, many hours remained empty of any programs. An infinite potential wasted by the lack of resources - and installations, thanks to the Galra. So that was for the frustrating part.

At last, there was a good news program.

"...burning as it's entered our atmosphere. Our experts say that..."

The remote fell from Pidge's hands and even Keith took his eyes away from his mug to look at the screen.

"What...?" he stammered as they watched the footage of an alien spaceship leaving a dark gray cloud behind him due to its wings currently on fire.

Pidge hurried to retrieve the remote and turned the volume up. They both leaned forwards as if that would help them understand the situation.

"The ship has been noticed when it didn't look like slowing down" the presenter, a neatly-dressed woman with flaxen hair, remembered the audience "and as for now, it still hasn't show any sign of it yet. The Beijing Outpost has managed to contact them."

Followed the recording of said contact: a male Puigian was explaining to the camera the trouble his crew had encountered when entering the Earth's atmosphere. The camera was shaking and screams of terror and anger could be heard in the back. The footage ended with the Puigian begging for help.

Back to the pretty lady. She was reading the latest news from the experts. A rescue aircraft had already been sent - as soon as the alien ship had caught fire - but according to the scientists, it was unlikely it would reach them on time. The truth was: the ship was heading for the Himalayas, where the Galaxy Garrison had no relay. The aircraft sent came from Beijing, the nearest one, but because it was big enough to catch the ship in distress, it was as equally slower. Experts were trying to come up with another rescue plan but there was, really, little they could do - Earth's fleet was yet to be fully operational or simply sufficient in term of number.

The two Paladins watched the news with horror until Keith jumped to his feet and rushed towards the exit. Pidge didn't understand at first, until she looked at the camera from the hangar's ceiling and saw Keith heading for his Lion.

"And that's the story" the girl concluded.

Lance looked properly shocked.

He turned to the screen and yelled.

"Keith, you idiot! Get back here right now!"

"Lance? Wha-?"

Keith was already inside Black and Pidge had thus switched to the Lion's channel so they could see him, helmet on, ready to take off. For one second, when he heard Lance's voice, he looked confused - but then he shook his head and quickly regained his composure. The Black Lion roared and took off.

"Sorry guys" the Paladin said "but I have to do this."

"No, you don't!" Lance shouted back. "You can't-"

But Keith cut him off, suddenly sounding irritated.

"Lance, just stop. The Lions are the only ships faster and powerful enough to rescue that ship." he explained. "Right now, I'm their only hope."

Lance opened his mouth but shut it almost immediately. He started biting his lower lip nervously. Pidge had the Lion's route displayed in a corner of the screen wall, right below the T.V. channel. She began running simulations to offer to Keith the best approach possible. Lance watched her doing her maths, feeling completely useless - and his gut clenching.

"Pidge, he can't do it! And you know that!" he whined pitifully.

The girl briefly closed her eyes. She stopped her calculations for a moment, to allow her to reach for her mug. She drank the cold tea in once and winced at it. Then, without looking at Lance, she replied:

"Unfortunately, Keith's right. The Prometheus will never make it on time. And even if it does, I don't see how they could proceed without putting themselves in danger."

"But..."

Lance bit his lip again, tears coming up to his eyes.

"But he can't do it..."

"Lance."

He looked up at the screen. Keith was staring directly at the camera - Lance didn't know if he could actually see them but he assumed he could. Keith's voice was softer when he spoke.

"Listen, Lance. I'll be fine. I promise."

He mildly smiled and Lance felt his heart sinking. He swallowed and let himself fall on the couch behind him. So, that was it. There was nothing he could do anymore. Just wait and hope for the best.

For shit's sake, why was he able to sleep this morning? Of all mornings! If he hadn't, he could have prevented Keith from going. Or he could have gone with him. Even better: instead of him. If that meant saving him... Lance closed his eyes.

He could remember the day he had woken up. All his family was there. He was so happy and relieved he wanted to hug everyone at the same time. Except he couldn't. He wasn't even able to sit. Against all the odds, the Paladins had survived their fall from the upper atmosphere. It was a miracle but it didn't come without a price.

Every single one of their bones was broken.

For days, they couldn't even move. Every time they tried, either it hurt like hell or it simply didn't worked. It took them a week to be able to sit in their bed, three to get out of it. Now, the doctors had indeed authorized them to go outside. But they still couldn't run, swim, least of all train. The bright side of their current life was that they weren't engulfed in plaster. The downside was: any movement could smash their bones to pieces - and despite the metal rods attached to them.

In short, __no__ , there was absolutely __no way__ Keith could come out of this thing "fine".

And the dumbass couldn't have ignored it.

Pidge cleared her throat.

"Okay, listen Keith. What I'm gonna tell you is your best way of doing it. So pay attention."

She then proceeded to explain to him the manoeuvre he'd have to perform. When she finished, he nodded.

"Copy that. Thank you, Pidge."

The next five minutes passed in silence. Keith flew to the location of the alien ship while the two Paladins watched his progress on the screen.

"I've got visual!" Keith suddenly shouted, "Starting the manoeuvre now!"

Lance was back to his feet, nervous as ever. Because his lip was already hurting, he had switched to biting his thumb. Pidge tried to stop him but quickly, as Keith aligned the Black Lion to the ship, she forgot to looked at him and he continued. When the two front paws had firmly grabbed the two side of the ship, Keith shouted thought the radio, towards the ship's crew.

"Hold on tight in there! I got you!"

Then he pulled back.

And screamed with pain when his limbs got ripped apart on the inside.


	5. A poisonous thought

The screen wall was quietly displaying the news at a low volume - it was almost a murmur. Pidge was staring at it blankly, her mug in her hand, neither drinking nor truly paying attention to the T.V. The nice-dressed lady was eager to remember to her viewers how well did the rescue mission go. Indeed, it started as a tragedy - the Puigian ship couldn't slow down and was most definitively going to crash on Earth - but had the ending of a happy fairytale - the Black Paladin unexpectedly appeared and saved the day!

"Bullshit" whispered Pidge out of sudden.

She put down her mug and seized the remote. She turned off the T.V. and rose up after taking back the cup. She went behind the countertop and drank the rest of her tea - blurgh, cold - before putting the mug into the sink. She went to exit the common room when she nearly bumped into Lance.

"Hey Pidge!" he chimed to her, cheerfully.

"Hi, Lance" she replied in a growl without turning to look at him.

She didn't bother to make sure he wasn't offended, though she did feel like he was going to say something. But she hurried up and headed to her room where she let herself fall flat on her bed. For several minutes, she lay there, just staring at the ceiling.

It had been three days since the rescue. And despite whatever "happy ending" the news was showing, it didn't turned out fine. Not for Keith, at least. Anyone could have asked him about the details if only he had woken up yet. Well, Keith wasn't really in a coma - he would opened his eyes sometimes, eat a little, and then pass out again - but it had been three fucking days and none of them, none of the doctors, were even sure he would eventually make it.

Not to mention his arms that he probably wouldn't be able to use like before ever again.

If the Castle of Lions were still around, they simply would have put him in a healing pod and wait till he'd been done. (Coran and Pidge's father were actually working on a healing pod but Bob's knew how long it would take them or if it would even work.)

However, Keith's condition wasn't the reason of Pidge's gloomy attitude for the past few days. Keith's auto-declared (and yet successfully achieved) mission had raised a topic in everyone's head, here, at the hospital: the possibility of going back in the field. As proven by the disaster that followed said rescue mission, the Paladins were well aware that they were still healing from their big fall and thus Voltron going back into business was out of the question. What wasn't, however, was the training.

Pidge had heard Lance talking about it with Hunk and, a day later, with Allura. It wasn't a big deal; the Cuban boy only thought about taking off, doing a backflip or two and going back to the base. Hunk seemed unsure about the idea - Pidge saw him wincing every time Lance mentioned the subject - maybe because what happened to Keith (and the fact that he was sleeping when it happened) had scarred him off. Allura however seemed to look keenly at Lance's idea.

"The danger has yet to be gone for the Earth" she said when the four Paladins happened to be in the Cafet' at the same time. "The Galra may return sooner than we'd expect it so we must be ready for it."

Strangely, Lance never asked Pidge what __she__ thought about the whole idea.

Maybe he had understood how she felt. Or maybe not. Maybe there was something wrong between them.

So, here they were, on the plain afternoon, standing next to their Lions, waiting for the doctors to finish preparing them up. Their vitals were going to be carefully watched over and they had to wear a new suit, one that had been created for the sole purpose of their training: it was tighter than the usual ones, especially around the arms and the legs. Nobody wanted to repeat Keith's tragedy. Finally, they got to climb into their Lion. When she was about to enter Blue, Allura turned to look up at the platform where Pidge was standing, leaning on the railing.

"You sure you don't want to come?" the princess asked her.

Pidge shook her head. Allura looked disappointed for a second and then she disappeared inside the mechanical beast. Soon, they took off. Pidge watched them for a moment before eventually heading back to her bedroom, walking up the corridor that had been built specially to connect the Lions' hangar with the hospital.

She curled up on her bed and cried. The others surely thought she was afraid of getting hurt but they were wrong. If anything, Pidge was certainly the most healed one amongst the Paladins - and thus least likely one to get hurt because of the flight. The problem was elsewhere.

The problem was she didn't want to go back inside Green.

She didn't want to fly inside her __ever again__.

It was literally poisoning her existence. She knew she'd have to face it sooner or later - later being the worst time of course. Heck, if the team was already back in training, "later" would not even be that late. But she just. Couldn't.

Pidge didn't even knew her fear of flying again was so huge until she saw Keith flying at a insane speed just to be able to catch up with the alien ship's own high speed. She had managed to remain cool while she explained the manoeuvre as he was processing it but later, when Keith had had the ship safely landed - right before passing out himself - she noticed how her hands were shaking.

The girl had nightmares waking her up nearly every night - every one on the team had them. Sometimes, these nightmares revolved around losing her family. She would see Matt's grave and think she had imagined the whole "his wrong birthday date is a clue to his current location" thing. Others times, she would revisit the day she had learned her father and her brother had gone missing. These were bad dreams but once she was up, she knew they weren't the reality. In reality, both her father and Matt were safe and alive and reunited with her and her mother. The worst nightmares happened every week - at least - and had her waking up sweating and panting.

In those nightmares, she dreamed about her fall.

They didn't even had the time to think it through. The giant purple robot was going to explode and take the Earth with it. With ATLAS down, they were the only ones left to prevent it from happening. And there was also only one solution: take it to space and hope they'd go far enough. It was a one-way trip. How could it not have been? But because they were the Paladins of Voltron, they didn't even hesitate. They did it. And Pidge saw the robot exploding with merely a bitter feeling in her guts.

When the blast hit them, it mostly knocked them down, along with their Lions. Pidge re-emerged later when he and her Lion entered the atmosphere and the air pressure made everything trembling. She clutched her levers and try to have Green running again. But Green wouldn't wake up. The girl watched themselves falling. Though she hadn't been scared when they took the robot into space, she was now completely terrified. Because she was powerless. Because the clouds were vanishing and she could see the ground. Because Green wouldn't slow down. Because no one else responded through the intercoms. Because she shook her levers in vain. Because she knew the impact would kill her. And above all, she knew __how__.

Because she hadn't been lucky enough to fall with only the sky to look to. Because she thus was able to count the seconds before the impact. Three, two, one...

She woke up. She remembered it was only a dream.

Yet, that wasn't fully true: it had happened. She may have learned her father and Matt's disappearance through the news on the T.V. but she went into space and brought them back. She may have stood in front of Matt's grave but the wrong birthday date had led her to him.

However, she had fallen from the sky. And no one had come to save her.

The sun was slowly disappearing beneath the horizon. The team was probably gathering in the common room for tonight's diner. Pidge rubbed nervously the sleeves of her suit. She knew that if she pressed her fingers in some areas around her arm, she could feel the metal rods that had been attached to her bones. The suit's fabric seemed pretty thick, though: she couldn't feel them anymore. Also, she hadn't heard the three Paladins complaining after their flight, earlier on the day, so she guessed the suit worked well enough.

The Green Paladin took a deep breath.

"Okay, girl, we can do it."

Her Lion had her mouth wide open and her giant eyes seemed to stare directly at hers. Pidge climbed up the footbridge slowly, almost reluctantly. When she entered the cockpit, her heart started to beat faster. She sat down and places her shaking hands on the two levers. She swallowed and closes her eyes briefly.

Green lighted up.

"Good girl" Pidge said but her voice sounded hoarse and she felt like throwing up.

She decided to wait a few more minutes, at least until she'd stopped feeling nauseous. She looked at her surroundings to pass the time. Everything felt so familiar. In a way, more familiar than anywhere she could have lived in recently. The view, the chair, the control panels; it just felt right. And at the same time, so frightening. Pidge was stressed out. She knew she was about to panic.

She breathed.

She could do it, though,

She could draw the levers to her, shut Green's entry way, have her roar and burst into the air. She could do it, she could tighten her grip on the controls and just do the usual stuff, so easy, so simple. She could do it.

She couldn't.


	6. The bitter taste of betrayal

A FEW MONTHS LATER

When she entered the room, the scientist in his Garrison uniform - the same as hers - mildly nodded to her before coming up to her.

"Thank you for coming so fast, princess" said Sam as they shook hands.

"It's natural" Allura answered.

She looked around. She recognized the room, the control panels all over it, with people she knew by sight tapping on their screen or speaking through their earpieces, for she had come here very often recently.

Most of the time, she would help by opening wormholes for aliens ships seeking refuge on Earth. As Voltron itself wasn't needed, she was thus separated from the others Paladins who had, by now, resumed their training and proceeded to use their Lions to help with the Reconstruction.

They had finally been allowed to leave the Hospital, but it had remained their kind of HQ, their families still living nearby and the Lions still remaining in the Hangar linked to it.

Their bodies may had healed a little but their minds were still attending their wounds and the Cafeteria, as they called it, was the best place to do so. Even Shiro wouldn't interrupt them when they'd spent the night together.

"What's the matter Sam?" asked the Blue Paladin as she shook off all those thoughts.

She hadn't received a message to notify her that a ship needed a wormhole and this meeting wasn't planned at all - Sam just texted her ten minutes ago.

Sam opened his mouth but eventually closed it and sighed.

"You better see it by yourself."

They left the control room and he lead her into the elevator. They slowly began their descent inside the Galaxy Garrison itself. It was always an impressive view, the huge hangar resting beneath the surface, at least the same width than what existed on the surface. For now, however, a vast part of that surface was occupied by the pieces of the giant robot they had fought after Sendak's fall.

"As you know" Sam began, "we've spent months recovering the pieces of this creature."

Allura nodded. On the occasion - well, at least as soon as her body could have stood it - she had helped fish out said pieces from the ocean it had sunken into after exploding in outer space.

"But we never fount its power source..."

As they got closer to the ground, the hugeness of the creature appeared clearly. The majority of the pieces themselves were at least the side of a MFE.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"...until now."

Allura looked up at Sam with confusion but before she could talk, he tilted his head in the direction of what could be called the chest of the giant robot. They had a scaffolding installed to allow scientists dressed up in a anti-radiation suit to give it a closer look. When Allura and Sam approached the structure, they moved away to let them see their recent discovery.

"An Altean!" exclaimed the princess.

She didn't know what was the most shocking between the fact that the robot was housing an Altean or - as the next following seconds pointed it out - that after all those months trapped into it, the Altean was still alive.

"Get her out of there!" shouted Allura as soon as the young Altean female groaned and mildly wiggled.

Sam frowned at her.

"But, princess... She tried to kill you, remember?"

The Paladin didn't even looked at him when she answered him - she couldn't take her eyes away from the Altean, her body all tensed up at the idea she could be hurt or about to be.

"I don't care! Get her out of there, I said!"

Sam looked confused but eventually sighed and gave orders.

Getting the Altean out of her mechanic cocoon was no easy task. They soon realized she was linked to it with deeper connections than they expected. As first, they wanted to simply cut into the suit, freeing her arms and her legs but when they understood that could damaged her - or worse, kill her - they had to find a complete other way. Fortunately, the robot used technology, albeit stranger to them, familiar to what they had previously encountered, both on the Altean and the Galra side.

Thirteen hours later, the young female was lying in a bed, in the Garrison's medical wing.

Her health condition was stable but not good nonetheless.

The five Paladins plus Shiro, Sam and Coran met in the room near hers. The matter was to decide what to do with her. Obviously, Lance, slouched on the couch with Hunk and Pidge on each of his sides, spoke first.

"She's dangerous! We should put her in a cell right now!"

Shiro, standing next to Sam and Allura who was sitting in one of the armchairs, raised his hand in his direction.

"Calm down, Lance. We have to think this through to not make any hasty decision."

Lance scowled and looked sideways to Keith. The Red Paladin briefly glanced back at him. To everyone's surprise, he hadn't exiled himself to one corner of the room to lean against the wall as he used to, but rather, he had sat cross-legged on the floor so to face them all.

"Besides" Sam added, "she is very weak now. She has to remain under medical attention if we don't want to lose her. On the other hand, that also means she can't hurt us."

"Will she make it?" asked Pidge.

Sam looked to Allura while raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know" the princess replied.

Before anyone could comment en that, she added:

"But I'm sure I can heal her."

Lance jumped and sat up.

"What?! No no no! No way! We are __not__ going to help her with your magic princess! She tried to kill us!"

Shiro inhaled but Hunk was quicker.

"I'm kind of with Lance, on this one. I admit we can't lock her up before hearing what she has to say for her defense but I'm 100% positive giving her magical assistance is a bad idea."

Shiro crossed his arms, not in an angry way, but in his thinking way. Eventually, everyone's gaze converged to Keith - who looked surprised as if he had himself forgot he had a say in this conversation.

"Keith" asked Shiro, "what do you think?"

The Galran boy frowned as he thought about the problem - and a solution to it.

"I'm... not sure. Mr Holt, you did say her condition is stable?"

"Yes."

The Red Paladin shrugged lightly.

"Then maybe we can't wait? And we'll use Allura's magic only if her state is getting worse."

"That's the wisest sentence of the day, Keith" said Coran while smoothing his moustache.

Shiro chuckled.

"Well, if __Coran__ say so, I believe we've come to an agreement."

They parted, Sam and Coran going back to the new Altean's side, Shiro to the cadets' training and the Paladins to their own exercises.

And one week later, the Altean's state got worse.

Allura got called in emergency and thus was the only Paladin in the room - with the exception of Shiro.

"Are you sure you want to do this, princess?" asked Sam.

"We don't have much time!" Coran remembered them both.

There were also two doctors, swirling around the room. The constant beeping of the machines that had suddenly gone wild stressed her out. On her bed, the Altean stirred violently as if she couldn't breath anymore - which was probably the case. Allura could save her, she knew she could, but was it a good idea? Lance never raised the topic again but she could well remember how he was strongly against it. Maybe he was right, this Altean did try to kill them and she shouldn't forget it.

Shiro put a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust yourself princess."

She smiled to him but quickly darkened. The thing was: she didn't trust herself. In the past, she trusted Lotor and he used that trust against them all - he still hunted her dreams. Now, her first reaction towards the Altean female had been to pull her out from her dying suit. But wasn't it only because they shared the same race? Wasn't she letting her judgment affected by the never ending hope of seeing other Alteans again? She gritted her teeth.

"But we need information."

Then, to everyone inside the room:

"Move away please!"

As they obeyed her, she approached the Altean. She closed her eyes and gently put her hands on her chest. A vibrant blue energy, the same that saved Shiro's life, appeared between her fingers and went all the way back to her shoulders and then her head. The female stopped moving and, after a few seconds, her breath steadied. Allura removed her hands and the other Altean opened her eyes.

The princess felt a huge relief.

"Hi" she timidly said.

The Altean looked up at her, ignoring everyone and everything else. Her eyes narrowed.

"You..."

Despite a sudden feeling of discomfort - she hadn't expected to be stared at like that, Allura tried to smile to her tenderly.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Princess Allura, the daughter of King Alf-"

"I know who you are!"

Suddenly, the Altean jumped at her, aiming for her throat. Luckily, before she could closed her long fingers around it, Shiro had pushed Allura away and caught her by her wrists. He took a step forward and tightened his grip on her, making her powerless.

Meanwhile, as soon as she had attacked, Sam had gone for the alarm who was now blaring.

"Release me!" shouted the Altean, wriggling in Shiro's grip - in vain.

Allura was still in shock. She stood up, though, and moved closer to the other Altean.

"Please, calm down. My father, King Alfor is dead but you're safe n-"

Again, the female interrupted her and spat to her face.

"I'm glad Alfor's dead but you should have joined him!"

The loud footsteps of the soldiers that had gained stronger over the last seconds abruptly stopped and then the doors opened. Shiro handed the Altean to them. She seemed to have accepted her fate and had stopped fighting.

"I... I don't understand" stuttered Allura.

The other Altean looked at her one last time before being taken away - and it was a glaze so full of hate that Allura couldn't but shivered.

"You should. You're the one who betrayed us, after all."


End file.
